It is with great pleasure that I welcome you, Mr President, and your delegation on the occasion of your working visit to South Africa.

We believe that through this visit, the historical and fraternal relations that happily exist between our two governments and peoples will be further strengthened.

Your visit is very special to us as it represents a continuation of our excellent cooperation and the deepening of our diplomatic bilateral relations.

Your visit coincides with the celebration of Youth Month in our country.

In South Africa, the month of June is dedicated to the youth of our country in recognition for their selfless contribution to the freedom and democracy that we enjoy today.

We know that the youth in your country are also engaged in a struggle for freedom and justice.

Mr President, you visit us during a year when we are marking the centenary of the births of two of our iconic elders, the late President Nelson Mandela and Mama Albertina Sisulu.

This year we are celebrating the lives of these two great Africans who believed that the freedom of the South African people could not be separated from the freedom of all people, both on our continent and beyond.

When the people of Western Sahara and South Africa meet it is a gathering of one people.

Our freedom and your freedom are indivisible.

We share a common history of struggle for freedom and justice.

In 1994, South Africa achieved a democratic breakthrough, the people’s victory over the heinous system of apartheid.

Yet, the gains of our democracy cannot be complete while the Saharawi people’s yearning for freedom and justice is not realised.